ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228577
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| Date: | Thursday 16 May 1940 |
| Time: | 12:00 LT |
| Type: |  Bristol Blenheim Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 18 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L9254 |
| MSN: | WV-T |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ardissat, near Crevecoeur-sur-l'Escaut (Nord), 8 km SSE of Cambrai -
 France
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Poix-de-Picardie, France |
Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV L9254 (WV-T) 18 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (failed to return) from combat operations on 16 May 1940. All Three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/667): "Blenheim L9254 force landed near Bohain, France, 16 May 1940. Pilot Officer J R Whelan: injured. Sergeant T J Mongey: report of death [sic]"
Airborne from Poix-de-Picardie, France as one of five Blenheims of 18 Squadron, tasked with bombing advancing enemy armoured columns on Le Cateau-Cambrai road. Two Blenheims Failed To Return (L9254 and L9187), one of these crash-landing in Allied territory after being attacked by enemy aircraft in target area. Blenheim L9254 was shot down at 12.00 by Bf 110s near Cambrai while attacking enemy armoured columns.
Crew of Blenheim L9254:
Sergeant (Observer) David Borthwick, RAF 563613, age 26, killed in action 16/05/1940
Flying Officer (Pilot) Arnold J. Stuart, RAF 70654, age 29, killed in action 16/05/1940
Leading Aircraftman (Air Gunner) Horace G. James, RAF 614259, killed in action 16/05/1940
All three crew fatalities were buried at Crevecoeur-sur-L'Escaut Communal Cemetery, Nord Department, France. Note that 18 Squadron also lost Blenheim L9187, which was damaged by 109's near Sedan, Ardnees, France on the same day. Crew was Sgt Moncey,(Observer), Killed In Action; P/O J. Whenlan, (pilot) wounded but crash landed; and LAC Broen, (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) uninjured and returned to his unit. The official Air Ministry file AIR 81/667 lists the loss of Blenheim as "L9254", but names the crew injuries and fatalities as the crew of Blenheim L9187.
The official listed crash location of "Bohain" (Bohain-en-Vermandois, as it was renamed in 1956) is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France at approximate Coordinates: 49°59′11″N 3°27′15″E. The unofficial reported crash location of Ardissat, near Crevecoeur-sur-l'Escaut is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, at approximate Coordinates: 50°06′23″N 3°15′06″E. The two locations are some 23.4 km apart.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/664: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502250
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276450/borthwick,-david/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276452/stuart,-arnold-james/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276451/james,-horace-gwyn/
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1052
7. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/18_squadron.html#1605
8. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/20.htm
9. http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=99&articleid=1476&displayorder=71
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohain-en-Vermandois
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8vec%C5%93ur-sur-l%27Escaut
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 July 1940 | R3662 | 18 Sqn RAF | 0 | Sangatte Beach, Sangatte near Calais, Pas De Calais | |
w/o |
| 8 August 1940 | L9472 | 18 Sqn RAF | 3 | North Sea, off Zeeland |  |
w/o |
| 29 April 1942 | Z7436 | 18 Sqn RAF | 3 | Zuidvaartpolder between Goes and Wolphaartsdijk; Zeeland | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Aug-2019 21:27 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 28-Aug-2019 21:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Aug-2019 21:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 29-Aug-2019 04:11 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 29-Aug-2019 19:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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